Lot 53: Follower of Hieronymus Bosch ('s Hertogenbosch circa 1450-1516) A Vision of Hell, unframed

A Vision of Hell, possibly the Vision of Tundale
oil on panel
124 x 95.8cm (48 13/16 x 37 11/16in).
unframed

PROVENANCE:
The Collection of Mme. Janine Sager, her sale Sotheby's London, 16 April 1980, lot 47 (as Follower of Hieronymous Bosch)
Anonymous sale, Hôtel Drouot Paris, 28 April 1994, lot 396 (as Circle of Jerome Bosch)

The present lot clearly depicts a vision of Hell and may possibly illustrate the Vision of Tundale. The story of Tundale begins when he is invited to stay to dinner by his aggrieved debtor but is stricken with a violent fit which results in his apparent death. Tundale's guardian angel emerges from a star and accuses Tundale of ignoring him during life. Tundale readily admits his guilt and his journey through Hell begins. The original Latin was written by Marcus, a Benedictine monk, recently arrived from Ireland at the influential Cistercian establishment of St. James in Regensburg. The text was widely read throughout Europe and it is possible that Dante knew of it before writing his Divine Comedy.